At
the
beginning
of
Christopher
Rice’s
new
novel,
“Light
Before
Day,”
a
crystal
meth
lab
tucked
inside
a
filthy
doublewide
trailer
in
Northern
California
explodes
in
a
ball
of
fire.
A
teacher
searching
for
her
student
is
killed.
The
action
jumps
to
the
West
Hollywood
area
of
Los
Angeles,
where
we
are
introduced
to
Adam
Murphy,
a
boozy
writer
for
Glitz
magazine
who
gets
fired
over
a
story
about
a
marine
helicopter
pilot
who
flew
his
aircraft
into
the
Pacific.
Murphy
is
in
love
with
Corey,
who
disappears
and
is
thought
to
be
a
victim
of
the
West
Hollywood
Slasher.
After
landing
a
job
with
mystery
writer
James
Wilton,
Murphy
and
Wilton
search
for
answers.
The
search
leads
them
to
drug
dealers,
a
meth
assassin,
pedophiles
and
hustlers,
all
ending
in
a
hail
of
bullets.
“Light
Before
Day”
is
a
novel
that
is
lightning
fast
and
in
your
face
with
its
honest
take
on
the
seedy
side
of
gay
culture
in
Los
Angeles.
As
with
the
first
two
Rice
novels,
the
author
weaves
seemingly
unrelated
people
and
places
with
surreal
events
to
create
a
terrifically
rich
tapestry.
Rice
drops
few
clues
along
the
way
until
a
gasp-inducing
moment
when
all
aspects
of
the
story
become
clear.
In
this
latest
novel,
Rice
leaves
behind
the
gothic
tones
of
his
two
previous
books,
“A
Density
of
Souls”
and
“The
Snow
Garden,”
and
commits
himself
to
an
out-and-out
thriller.
Writing
in
first-person
for
the
first
time
changes
the
narrative
and
the
scope
of
his
characters
as
well.
The
result
is
a
deeper,
better
rounded
and,
ultimately,
more
enjoyable
book
on
every
level.
Fans
of
Rice’s
first
two
books
should
find
more
to
enjoy
here.
Newcomers
and
those
who
didn’t
get
the
author’s
work
before
this
project
should
give
“Light
Before
Day”
a
try
to
see
for
themselves
how
Rice’s
own
life
lessons
have
changed
him
and
his
work
for
the
better.
Rice
is
scheduled
to
read
from
his
new
book
in
Washington,
D.C.,
at
Olsson’s
Books
&
Records
on
Thursday,
March
24.
CHRISTOPHER
RICE:
West
Hollywood.
RICE:
That’s
him;
he’s
wonderful.
We’ve
lived
together
for
two
years
and
been
together
for
three.
The
first
year
was
long
distance.
That
was
brutal.
RICE:
It
was
a
combination
of
circumstances.
He
was
ready
to
leave
New
York,
having
lived
there
almost
his
whole
life.
I
said
‘I’m
not
leaving
LA;
I
just
got
here.’
It
helps.
I
really
like
him,
and
he
really
likes
me.
I
knew
I
had
found
the
perfect
Jewish
husband.
RICE:
Not
anymore;
I’ve
changed
my
wild
ways.
RICE:
Pretty
much,
yeah.
RICE:
I
experienced
a
lot
of
things
at
once
that
forced
me
to
grow
up.
My
father
became
gravely
ill
and
eventually
died.
I
met
someone
who,
for
all
intents
and
purposes,
I
married.
Life
was
happening.
Life
happened.
It
was
like
I
woke
up.
I
settled
down,
stopped
the
partying,
I
had
been
hard
drinking
since
I
was
16.
One
day
I
realized
I
have
a
really
fabulous
life
and
I
needed
to
actually
live
it
rather
than
avoid
it.
It
had
a
profound
effect
on
everything.
RICE:
I
was
supposed
to
write
a
different
novel,
the
sequel
to
“The
Snow
Garden.”
RICE:
Ultimately,
I’m
so
glad
I
didn’t.
I’m
glad
I’m
not
locked
into
characters
I
created
four
years
ago;
my
life
is
so
different
now.
Some
writers
like
it.
They
can
lock
into
a
long
series
about
one
character
spanning
many
novels.
There
is
a
certain
sense
of
security
in
that.
I
do
want
to
bring
Adam
and
Jimmy
back
from
“Light.”
It’ll
depend
on
the
public’s
reaction.
RICE:
I
had
written
this
short
story
for
Genre
magazine;
I
was
their
fiction
editor
at
the
time.
It
was
called
“November
Brings
Fog.”
It
was
different
from
“Light
Before
Day,”
but
it,
too,
was
about
this
young
gay
man
who
was
obsessed
with
this
phantom
serial
killer
named
the
West
Hollywood
Slasher.
RICE:
Yes.
I
don’t
know
if
he
was
named
the
same,
but
yes.
The
character
who
was
not
in
the
short
story
was
James
Wilton.
RICE:
Yes,
very
much
so.
My
relationship
with
my
father
...
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